Local boy has a heart for Somalian drought victims

In the face of a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, it never occurred to 9-year-old Colton Seymour that one little boy couldn't make a difference. When Colton learned that kids like him are perishing in East Africa due to the worst drought in 60 years, he cleaned out his piggy bank. Already he has inspired others, young and old, to do the same.

"I can't stand people dying. It just makes me super sad," says Colton, a fourth-grader at Sisters Elementary School.

On a recent afternoon, Colton saw a news story about the worsening drought in Somalia in his parents' Wall Street Journal.

"I saw a little boy in a little bathtub bowl. He's super small and you can see his ribs. He doesn't have enough fat on him to survive. And I thought 'I have to do something to help them.'"

Colton's mother, Tara Seymour, says her son became deeply moved. "He was really taken aback when he saw a picture of a child. He was lost, in tears, asking 'What can we do to help?'"

She suggested that after dinner they do some more research on the computer. Together they learned that, in the Horn of Africa, 11 million lives now hang in the balance in what the United Nations is calling "the world's worst humanitarian disaster." Refugees from hard-hit Somalia are fleeing their country in hopes of finding help over the border in Kenya.

"Kids under 5 years old are dying because of hunger and having to walk hundreds of miles to find help," says Colton.

Colton's mom dropped him off the next morning at Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), as is their usual routine. He got right to work: he made a sign, set out a jar for donations, and "gave a little speech with some of my friends who are really helping me."

Other children at SPRD cracked open their piggy banks. So did a few parents. "The first day I got 32-and-a-half dollars," says Colton, wide-eyed. More trickled in the following day, and Colton added 80 dollars of his own - his entire life savings.

Tara and Jeff Seymour offered to match the first $100 their son raised, as well.

The family plans to donate the funds to Portland-based charity Mercy Corps, to provide life-saving nutrition packets to East Africans.

Colton told The Nugget that although he's pretty good at math, he doesn't have any prior fundraising experience. However, one summer day he ran a Gatorade stand in his neighborhood. Like most kids, he spent his earnings on himself and can no longer remember what he bought.

But this is very different, he says.

Tara is not altogether surprised by Colton's act of compassion. "He's always been sensitive," she says. "He's pretty in tune with people's feelings."

The Seymours make it a point to expose Colton and his 5-year-old sister Charlotte to a broad view of the world beyond Sisters.

"We try to instill that we are so privileged to live in a nice house in a beautiful town. Not everyone is. That's one of the reasons we do get the Wall Street Journal," says Tara.

Although Colton's humanitarian effort has given him a new awareness, old habits do die hard. "I still have to tell him, 'You can't be donating to the hungry and not eating your lunch,'" says his mom.

Colton would like to send a message out to his community: "Please help donate. There's two million kids walking and about 80 dollars can give a thousand packets of vitamins and extra food.

"I just want kids to survive."

To donate to Colton's cause, stop by the SPRD office at 1750 W. McKinney Butte Rd., or donate online at http://www.mercycorps.org/projects/hornofafrica.